Buzzell grew up in California and enlisted in the United States Army at the age of 26. He joined the service as an infantryman and spent 2003 in Iraq, assigned to a Stryker Brigade Combat Team.

It was in Iraq that Buzzell began publishing a blog under the title "CBFTW" as a replacement for his habitual journaling back in the States. The blog gained popularity quickly, because as an anonymous soldier-blogger Buzzell was able to share more lucid experiences than an embedded journalist, and he was also able to share a bit more of the truth than the Army was able to.

Colby published a book on his experiences entitled, My War: Killing Time in Iraq combining narrative, blog entries, and emails that evolved from his blog over time.